First Look: Mugen Shinden Ni (神電貳)

With the start of the racing season just barely into its second round for many of the world’s various series, it is hard to believe that we should start hearing about entries for the 2013 Isle of Man TT, but June is truly just around the corner. Returning for the TT Zero race, Team Mugen returns to the Isle of Man with its new Shinden Ni electric motorcycle.

Piloted last year by the King of the Mountain himself, John McGuinness returns to Team Mugen where he hopes to improve upon his second place finish, and the 102.2 mph average lap speed he posted during last year’s competition.

McPint will be going for the top spot on the podium this year, but will have stiff competition from both Michael Rutter (the 2011 & 2012 TT Zero winner) and Mark Miller (the 2010 TT Zero winner) of the MotoCzysz crew.

We don’t have a plethora of details on the Mugen Shinden Ni (?? ?) motorcycle, but Mugen says that the team has built an all-new chassis and powertrain, and is working on finalizing the bodywork as well, which we can only imagine will be more aerodynamical.

We do know that the Shinden Ni will be lighter than its predecessor, which was tipped to be the heaviest entry at last year’s race, and featured a massive battery pack.

Perhaps more importantly, Mugen and McGuinness will race in 2013 with more information and a better understanding of what it takes to race around the 37.76 miles of the Mountain Course with an electric motorcycle. Expect the competition to be fierce this year — we can’t wait.